Stadium and arena fields and other play surfaces are developed, maintained, and manicured with a high level of care and at a high cost to stadium and arena management. Thus, managers go to great lengths to protect and preserve the fields and play surfaces when the public or ticketholders are brought into the venue for events such as concerts. In order to prevent pedestrian or vehicle traffic from trampling or otherwise destroying grasses, damaging manicured dirt surfaces, and/or preventing marring to polished surfaces, a network of durable interlocking ground protection panels may be placed on the ground before the event. In some cases, the flooring panels are transparent or translucent so that sunlight can reach and nourish living grass below the surface. The ground protection panels support the load of the patrons of the venue and separate traffic from the sensitive surfaces underneath until the event is over. The panels are then removed and damage or wear to the field or play surface is limited.
It is common for events to need to route cables across the areas where patrons and vehicles will be traveling for the event. For example, at a concert, many cables need to be routed from the stage to a sound and mixing booth which is typically in front of the stage and separated from the stage by the ground protection panels covering the ground where concertgoers will be seated or standing during the show. These cables would be damaged if routed underneath the ground protection panels, and, due to interlocking, the panels do not have spaces in between for cables to pass. Also, even if there were spaces between the panels, the panels then would not effectively protect the ground surface from damage. Thus, to span the distance to the stage, the cables are routed over the top surfaces of the panels or routed over long distances around the crowd. Generally, routing over the top surfaces is preferred in order to reduce the required amount of cabling and setup.
Gaffer tape is commonly used to secure the positions of the cables to the floor panels so that the cables are not moved by the movement of people or vehicles on the floor panels, but the tape is not effective enough at protecting the cables from the customers (or vice versa). Depending on the number of cables and their thicknesses, taped-down cables may prevent wheelchair traffic, may pose a tripping hazard for pedestrians, and are not protected well enough from crush damage due to the weight of people or vehicle traffic. The tape may also come loose, further increasing damage and danger for the cables and people in the area that can also lead to audio, video, or power failures. Accordingly, there is a need for improvements in protection of cables where protective floor panels are used.